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onthesamepage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Cue this book.
His voice was a low snarl. “Sometimes when I lay awake in the middle of the night, I think of you.”
“Don’t…”
“Sometimes there is nothing left and all that’s anchoring me here is knowing you’ll pick a fight with me in the morning.”
“Hugh...”
“What do you want more than anything? Tell me what it is, and I’ll rip the world apart to bring it to you.”
Overall, while the pacing is a bit slow, I still really enjoyed this book. Hugh and Elara are well-matched as a couple, and their banter made me snicker more than once. But most of all, I appreciated the redemption arc that Hugh got, and how he faced up to his past and the things he has done. He isn't suddenly a good person, but you can see hints of it in how protective he is of his people, and how he's trying to make amends for past mistakes.
I do recommend reading this before finishing off Kate Daniels with Magic Triumphs, because it will add context to some of the discussions and events there.
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Homophobia
woad674's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse
bravishka_skytano's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, War, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is not technically a sequel, but it does star one of the recurring antagonists from the Kate Daniels series, and takes place between books nine and ten of that series. That means it leans on a lot of worldbuilding from those books. As far as I can tell, the relevant worldbuilding and backstory are conveyed throughout IRON AND MAGIC, but I'm so immersed in that other series that it's difficult for me to say for sure. The main attraction of this book would be to know what Hugh is up to after certain events in the Kate Daniels books, so while someone could read this without having read those, they would be lacking a depth of knowledge which makes seeing this side of Hugh more meaningful.
The story begins when Hugh, cut off from the all-consuming and reassuring nature of Roland and his magic, has been exploring his restored mortality by trying to drink himself to death or until the void inside his soul disappears, whichever comes first. After his remaining Iron Dogs inform him that they're being hunted down, he pulls himself together and strikes a deal with Elena for them to marry and present a united front, he having troops with no base and her having a castle with few defenders. A lot of the plot focuses on their power plays as Elena and Hugh have different priorities and not necessarily the same goals while modifying their base. Gradually, as the threats they were abstractly fortifying against come calling, Hugh and Elena have to work together in more than name to protect as many as they can.
I enjoyed this immensely, especially as an exploration of someone who has until now been presented as a villain. This story explains who Hugh can become outside of Roland's dominion, and it turns out that person is a complex and interesting character who has all the competence and violence I've come to expect from him, but now has reasons to direct that violence towards protection rather than desolation. The way Elena and Hugh are just pretending to be a couple and the gap between the public narrative and the private reality is explored in some depth, and I like what Elena brings to the table.
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, War, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Torture, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Cursing, Body horror, Slavery, Alcohol, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcoholism, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Physical abuse, Child death, Child abuse, and Ableism
cc0906's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Child death and Child abuse
cluckieduck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I don't know how they managed to do it, but I now absolutely care about Mr. Hugh D'Ambray. Our love-to-hate-him, resident psychopath actually has a heart! Whether it's his tension-filled relationship with Elara, his brotherhood with the remaining Iron Dogs, or even his hilarious affinity to all animals, I want all his relationships to work out because he damn-well deserves it after all the crap Roland has put him through.
This book is an urban fantasy dreamboat - filled with action, tension, intrigue, great characters, and some steam (Ch. 14, anyone?!?) - I absolutely loved it.
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Violence, Sexual content, War, and Animal death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
wordsareworlds's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Whether or not you care for Hugh, the story is worth it for Elara. Mysterious, just as dangerous and in some ways just as monstrous, she has a great heart and sharp wit that make her instantly loveable. The book focuses much more on the first part of Hugh's evolution into a hero, by necessity, but has enough clues into Elara's backstory to leave me eager to read the next book.
While I'm not sure these two will ever completely leave behind the enemies part of enemies-to-lovers, they do reach an equilibrium of sorts by the end of the book and we have a HFN that feels like it could lead to a HEA in further books. Honestly, their back and forth battles are my favorite parts of the book, especially as they both realize how much they enjoy verbally sparring with each other and there are unspoken lines they don't cross.
The plot moves very quickly, and things come to a head in a very intense battle sequence. There is gore and death without pulling punches, but it doesn't veer into glorifying torture either.
Andrews pulls in aspects of many mythologies into the Daniels world, and this book is no exception. While not completely stripped of context, it still feels awkward to experience them second-hand only through the white, western characters. That aside, none of this feels like they were added for "exotic" flavor, which I appreciate.
The authors have put this particular series on hold for the moment, but I hope they're able to come back to it sooner rather than later.
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Homophobia
The main antagonist is Navajo, and while I am not Native, there are elements of his backstory that sent up red flags to merelin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, War, Blood, Gore, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical content, Alcohol, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcoholism and Torture
zngzag's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Torture and Violence